[Marxism] FREE AL-ZEIDI RALLY SET FOR DEC. 29 IN WASHINGTON, DC

[Dbachmozart@xxxxxxx]

Free Al-Zeidi Rally in DC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  - Dec. 24,  2008

CONTACT: David Swanson: _david@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
(mailto:david@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)   
202-329-7847

*FREE AL-ZEIDI RALLY SET FOR DEC. 29 IN WASHINGTON,  DC*

A rally calling on the Iraqi Government to free
Montather  Al-Ziedi, the man who threw his shoes at
George W. Bush, will be held Monday,  December 29 at
noon in front of the Iraqi consulate to the United
States,  located at 1801 P Street NW in Washington, DC.

The rally is timed to  immediately precede Mr. Al-
Ziedi's appearance in the Central Criminal Court  of
Iraq on Dec. 31, New Year's Eve.  Mr. Al-Ziedi was
arrested  December 14 after hurling his shoes at Mr.
Bush during a press conference in  Baghdad.  "Al-Zeidi
did not attempt to physically hurt George Bush but  to
insult him and express the deep anger that so many
Iraqis feel over the  U.S. occupation.  He should be
immediately released and the Iraqi  government should be
held accountable for abusing him while in  custody,"
said Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the peace  group
CODEPINK.

"The treatment Al-Zeidi has received should shame  all
Americans and is likely to motivate as much anti-
American sentiment  as have the photos of torture at Abu
Ghraib," said David Swanson, cofounder  of
AfterDowningStreet.org.  "While our President and Vice
President  openly confess to authorizing torture, their
puppet government in Iraq  tortures a man for throwing
shoes, in complete absence of even the pretense  of
'interrogation,' much less a ticking time bomb.
Freeing Al-Zeidi will  not fix this situation.  We must
also put Bush and Cheney behind  bars."

"There are credible reports that Montather Al-Ziedi has
been  tortured while in the custody of the government of
Iraq," said Nick Mottern,  Director of Consumers for
Peace, one of the rally organizers, "and this  alone
provides the basis for setting him free."

"Mr. Al-Ziedi's act,  in the context of the suffering
caused by the US-led invasion and occupation  of Iraq,
can be seen as a legitimate form of self-expression,"
Mottern  said, "but in any case his action is something
that should be treated as  nothing more than a
misdemeanor in which his time already spent in  jail
would be more than sufficient."

The rally is being called by a  coalition of peace and
justice organizations including: CODEPINK: Women  for
Peace; Iraq Veterans Against the War;
AfterDowningStreet.org;  Consumers for Peace;
Democrats.com, and others.

At the close of the  rally, organizers will deliver a
petition to Ambassador of Iraq to the United  States
Samir Sumaida'ie at the Iraqi embassy at 3421
Massachusetts Avenue  NW.
 
 
 
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